The Beginner Photography Podcast

Using Fantasy Photography to Explore Your Imagination with Liza Roberts

• Raymond Hatfield

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#370 On this episode of The Beginner Photography Podcast, join host Raymond as he speaks with fantasy portrait photographer and retreat organizer Liza Roberts. Liza shares her journey towards using photography as a tool to capture her creative vision instead of experimenting with it. The discussion revolves around using failure as an opportunity to learn, not giving up despite disappointments, and tips for planning photoshoots. Liza also talks about her experience as a beginner photographer and how she faced a learning curve as a beginner using a DSLR camera. Listeners also learn about Liza's retreats where participants can dress up and do photo shoots, providing opportunities to network and collaborate with others in the field. The main takeaway from the episode is the importance of following one's passion, experimenting, and sharing it with others.

Liza Roberts discovered her love for photography when she stumbled upon her dad's old Nikon film camera in high school. Despite already being passionate about other forms of art like painting and drawing, she was immediately drawn to the camera and began experimenting with it. Her dad was thrilled to have someone to share his love of photography with and when the family got their first DSLR, Liza realized that her interest was more than just a passing hobby. While she didn't know it at the time, photography would become a significant part of her life and ultimately lead to a career.

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Leverage Failures for Growth: View every setback as a chance to experiment and learn new techniques rather than a discouragement.
  • Relentlessness in Pursuit: Don't let excuses stand in your way; be relentless in planning and executing your vision to achieve your photography goals.
  • Importance of Detail: Focusing on small details, from costumes to accessories, can make a significant difference in bringing your creative vision to life.
  • Sharing Your Work: The ultimate goal of any personal project is to share it with others, allowing your story and vision to be seen and appreciated.

Links and Resources

Grab your free 52 Lightroom Presets at
http://freephotographypresets.com/

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Liza Roberts:

It's hard to do, but don't worry about the quality of the photos. Get quantity of photos and then pick maybe 5 out of those 200 that you're like, okay, these are the ones that I love because, and then make notes to yourself. Like, you know, this was out of focus, but look at the lighting that I got here. And then next time you go out on a practice day like that, start with the setting, just tweak them slightly rather than going through the wide range that you did the first time.

Raymond Hatfield:

Welcome to episode 370 of the Beginner Photography Podcast brought to you by CloudSpot, the all in one solution for photographers to deliver and sell your photos online. I am your host, Raymond Hatfield, and today we are chatting with fantasy portrait photographer, Eliza Roberts about letting your imagination just run free with fantasy photography. Now, one of the excuses that I hear most from new photographers is that they just simply don't have time to practice. Don't have time. And I get it. I mean, I certainly don't shoot as much as I would like to, but I think with all things in life, if something is important to you, you make time for it. And. If how much time you put into something is equal to how much you love it, well then I can tell you with absolute confidence that Liza loves photography. You, just capture the sorts of images that Liza's producing while you're out with your family. I mean, these images, they take time. These images require planning. These images require, props and, outfits. And these images require specific locations. But the end result You know, are not only beautiful, but I think because so few people are willing to put in that amount of time, that Liza does, she's kind of created this style of photography with far less competition than I am, then quote unquote, traditional portraits. So do yourself a favor and check out some of Liza's work by clicking the link in the show notes before you really dig into this one. So with that, let's go ahead and dive on into this. podcast episode with Liza Roberts. So Liza, my first question for you is, when did you know that photography was going to play an important role in your life? In

Liza Roberts:

high school, I found my dad's old Nikon film camera. Don't ask me what it was because I don't remember. and I'm like, this is really cool. I. Had always been into, different forms. I love painting and drawing primarily. I'm like, let's try this out. So, my dad was a big photographer in college and, really throughout his life. But, he was really excited that I got excited about it. So that was something we connected over. And, when he got our family's first DSLR that I think that was really when like, okay, this is something that I really love and it's going to be. Like special for me. I don't know if I knew like how big it was going to become at that point. I don't know if I was like always like photography is going to be my job, but it was going to be something that I definitely like. did throughout my life. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. I can relate to a lot of those moments. I remember our family getting our first video camera and thinking, Oh, this is cool, but not really understanding like how pivotal I guess that was until like you really start using it and see what it is that it can do. But you said that you found that film camera in high school. What were you taking pictures of at that point? Was it just like friends and family or were you using it in more of a intentional setting?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. So, the DSLR I, yeah, it was always portraiture for me. I'm an extrovert, so I've always want people around with, whatever I'm doing. So yeah, it was my sisters. It was, I have a lot of great photos of my grandma. I had a lot of self portraits to actually self portraiture, was one of the first. Things that I really focused on, because, you know, you're always available to yourself and it was a great way to play around with, technical aspects, like lighting composition. yeah, it was that a little bit of landscape stuff. When I was traveling just for fun, but mostly portraiture.

Raymond Hatfield:

So you knew right away, like, are we talking more than just snapshots of friends and family? But like, we're really trying to make a great photo out of these, these people in front of the camera.

Liza Roberts:

Yeah, it was, yeah, really trying to, make a great composition. Again, light has always been something I love to play with. Sometimes it was, One of the things I forgot to mention that I did a lot was take pictures at my sister's softball games. That was really fun for me, taking action photos. And my dad, it was something that people, you know, my dad really appreciated having those of my sister's like form and stuff as like a, as a softball player, but also just the parents of other players on the team. So that was a rewarding, fun thing for me to give people. But outside that, those kind of snapshots, it was always about. Making a great, a great portrait. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

I love portraiture because, it's a great way to connect with somebody like in a way that, you can't get just in a regular snapshot, right? Like snapshots are like these fun kind of carefree moments, but there's something about a portrait that I really feel like that is truly how you are able to, capture who somebody is, if you do the right job as a photographer and, and it doesn't feel weird, but like you can get a genuine view of who somebody is through a portrait. And saying that you kind of got started on this, like so early in your photography career, think that's unique because a lot of people get into it much later. So, where did that come from? Was it just seeing your dad's images or being exposed to specifically portraiture, early on when you, when you first picked up the camera?

Liza Roberts:

That's a great question. One that I actually hadn't thought about in a long time. But if I think about it, I'm immediately recalling, editorial portraits that I used to collect out of magazines. Like, I used to love the Vanity Fair, the iconic, like, everyone cool in Hollywood on the like, fold out cover and they all look so amazing.

Raymond Hatfield:

Amazing,

Liza Roberts:

yes. that and just from fine art portraiture, like oil paintings and, what else? I guess just fun, like, seeing people you love and know and these kind of, Intimate images and settings that answer the question? I think it did. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I think

Raymond Hatfield:

magazines. Yeah. So, it was more about seeing the camera as this tool to create something for you rather than, I'm just going to take it and capture some fun, fun memories. does that sound accurate?

Liza Roberts:

Yeah, for sure. I took a lot of fine art classes in high school. And one thing that I always remember my teacher saying is like, you control the medium, it doesn't control you. anything time I pick up new tool, like whether it be a new set of paints or pens, or I guess even for me, a camera, it's kind of like, this isn't for me, just a fun thing. Like, I'm going to make a, do what I want to do with it. So I don't know. It's just kind of, I think that if you think of any tool that way, it makes it a lot less intimidating. Don't let it scare you. Don't let it intimidate you. And like, it really is just there for you to do what you want to do with it. I don't know. Does that make sense?

Raymond Hatfield:

Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah, absolutely. And that's, such a hard thing. I think for new photographers to, to figure out, it takes a long time to figure that out. I've shared many times that it's like, you know, you get the camera, you realize that an auto doesn't really take the best photos. So once you control, the tool, the medium, you start taking better photos. But like, while you're in that stage, I don't know, you're not learning photography at that point. You're still learning the tool, but then once you learn what the tool can do and how to control it, that's when it really starts, to take off. And you can use it in the ways that that you imagine. So was it similar for you when you first picked up the camera? Were you shooting an auto? Or did you first get into like, no, no, no, we're going to figure out how to do this thing proper and go all in.

Liza Roberts:

Sure. So I loved, you know, before we even started this interview, you're like, I'm not going to ask you a lot of technical questions. I'm like, that's great. I'm not a technical photographer to this

Raymond Hatfield:

technical question.

Liza Roberts:

of course, that now I know, like, what the different settings, like, things mean, but they do not like, guide my work. Really? Like, I just. Mess around with what I think looks good, even if it's not the most technical, technically correct composition or settings. I just. play around with what I like, and then I'll figure it out in post if it worked or not, or make it work for me. so when I first started, I think that was kind of my approach to, again, like, I control the medium, I'm not going to let it control me. So, yeah, I think I shot a lot on auto because, It was intimidating. Of course, you have this buttons and like, what does all this mean? I did play around with manual settings a while, but cameras, of course, were not as advanced as what we have now. Like now my, I shoot with the Canon R6. I can see real time, like what I'm doing, with the settings, like, which has been a game changer, again, because I'm not a technical photographer. Yeah, so auto setting was really the way to go for me when I, first started out.

Raymond Hatfield:

So what then was the biggest struggle for you? it all just unicorns and rainbows or was there a learning curve?

Liza Roberts:

Definitely learning curve. I think for me, was figuring out, mean, it's all kind of overwhelming at 1st light light for some reason was pretty easy for me figuring out, like, what I liked with lighting. but I guess just. all of it, is that a good answer? Um, just it. The really the technical, just like all the buttons and, figuring out what, aperture worked with this ISO setting and figuring out the right combinations for what works with what before I got. Yeah. So let's go fast forward a few years from when I started photography into when I got my 1st, beginner, like DSLR camera as an adult after stepping away from it for a few years, I didn't have this nice, back of camera, like, visuals where I could see real time what I was doing. So, it was really frustrating thinking like, oh, I got this great shot and, realizing later once I loaded it on the computer, like, this is awful. This is not at all. It's out of focus, it's so grainy. So really just figuring out the combinations for what's outside or what's in the studio as far as, like lighting, I guess I'm rambling now, but that's how the way I'm talking is how it felt. It's just, it's all

Raymond Hatfield:

over the place. Yeah. You're just trying to figure out the best that you can, but you're not alone. I mean, I know that, many times in the, Facebook community, I've, heard photographers say, I thought that I killed it while I was out there shooting. And then I got home and. All of those are out of focus or the highlights are so blown out. You can't see anything. That is a common mistake. So how do you get over that?

Liza Roberts:

You play around. You let yourself fail. one of the things I tell new photographers now is, on a day when you have Maybe you have time to kill, go out, take some self portraits, grab a friend who has some time to kill too, and just do everything wrong. Let yourself do everything wrong. Start with the most ridiculous settings you can think of, and don't worry about quality, just worry about quantity, take a bunch of photos, then rearrange things, take a bunch that way, give yourself a wide range of settings and, take a ton of shots, load them on, see what works, upload them on to whatever editing program you're using, Go through and see what you like and what you don't like. I mean, there could be something that comes out of that session that this isn't technically right. Like, I use this ridiculous aperture. iSO with this lighting, but you know what? I really like it. And who cares if it's not technically correct. And I think that's where I let my when I started to do that is when I, you know, Okay. Found some of my best work or the work that I like most who cares if it's best for other people, you know,

Raymond Hatfield:

of course, 100 percent 100%. So does that mean after a shoot, you would come back and look at all the photos and dissect them piece by piece on the computer?

Liza Roberts:

Yeah, yeah. I mean, of course, you can give yourself some time, if you don't want to do it right away. But yeah, take some time. And again, it's hard to do, but don't worry about the quality of the photos, get a ton of photos, get quantity of photos, and then pick maybe five out of those 200 that you're like, okay. These are the ones that I love because, and then make notes to yourself, like, this was out of focus, but look at the cool, the lighting that I got here. And then next time you go out on a practice day like that, use those settings. Start with the settings and just tweak them slightly rather than going through the wide range that you did the first time.

Raymond Hatfield:

That is a great tip. And I know people are going to rewind that and say, Oh, I gotta, I gotta go out and try that. That

Liza Roberts:

helps. Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

I know that, many people starting out in photography, typically emulate what it is that they see. well, I think, I think that the common path is like people, maybe they take a great photo on their phone and then they say, Oh, it'd be great. I'd love to see what I can get out with a real camera. They get the real camera and see like, Oh my gosh, what I'm creating is garbage. So then they go to look for inspiration places like Facebook or Pinterest, you know, whatever it is and then start emulating that because they need some sort of starting point. Your photography is not what I would expect to see on Pinterest or something. There's definitely a visual style that I would say is, uniquely, different than those images. is a lot of your work dependent on shooting style or a lot of post production, I guess? Is that a good question? Does that make sense?

Liza Roberts:

Yeah, that totally makes sense. I guess I'll say a little bit of both. You mentioned, sources of inspiration. I'm going on Pinterest, whatever. so shooting style. Mine is definitely influenced by cinema. I love the, like, sweeping, cinematic, very, Visually appealing movies like, the Green Knight, for example. I know people have a big mixed feelings about that movie, but the cinema of it is so beautiful. The colors and framing is just incredible. So movies like that definitely influenced my shooting style, which I think, people notice like, when we're talking about my photography, people mention that. So I think that defines my work a bit. But then that's inspiration of cinema definitely carries over into the editing the post production of my work to, which is something that I think. I wish I would see other people like more people like play with just it's so fun if you like something, you find on Pinterest or whatever, you can use that, use that in your editing to take note of the colors, the composition. Is it? it symmetrical? Is it like, how have they framed the subject? I think for me, yeah, it's, it's both. Both is the answer. Yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

it's, it's, it's got to come from both for sure. So when, it comes to editing, when I look at your work, I don't necessarily think, Oh my gosh, Liza did a lot of editing here. Like it looks over edited. So, can you talk to me briefly about, what is your editing process? What is the goal for you when a photo, comes in from the computer?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. Yeah, I don't like to over edit. so I'm a fantasy photographer. That's how I define myself. and I knew when I got into this, I wanted my work to be fantasy, but really rooted in realism. So more like Lord of the Rings rather than like a, I'm trying to think that something that's really over the top, like, I can't even think isn't that crazy?

Raymond Hatfield:

I'm trying to think too. Let's see. What's a crazy fantasy movie? Like

Liza Roberts:

even labyrinth is kind of like, you get this like gritty like realism with it, you know, more like Lord of the Rings than like Barbie kind of like everything's technicolor and there's like lots and lots of butterflies and like whimsical. So yeah, more rooted in realism. So when I, edit, always keep that in mind. I want my subjects To feel like themselves to look like themselves. and be really rooted in this realistic world. I want people to feel like this is attainable. I guess when they look at my work, like, that's something they could do. That's some place they could be. So, I don't add a lot of, source images. I don't do a lot of, photo painting or, anything like that to make, to give it kind of an otherworldly. Feel in that sense, yeah, so, but mostly with my editing, I'm doing lots of color grading to give it that, the field that I want. Again, light has a lot to do with, How I want people to see and like how I want my work to feel, those are the big things. I hardly ever, take images into Photoshop every once in a while. I will if I want to do some background replacement or something, but mostly it's just light room playing around in there.

Raymond Hatfield:

It's funny, I got a question the other day, which I get all the time, which is what's better, Photoshop or Lightroom? it's so hard, because I'm the same way, like shooting weddings, it's like the majority of my work is all done in Lightroom, Yeah. I would imagine for somebody maybe who's doing like a lot of composites, type, fantasy imagery, fire, and, Yeah. I mean, it's easy to say dragons when you say fantasy, but like those types of elements, That would definitely be a job for Photoshop. So, when it comes to you it's, it seems more, character driven, I guess, then it's just, oh, here's, and some fire and dragons and whatnot. and I'm always interested because on your website you say specifically that you are inspired by many places like literature, cinema, like you just said, music, poetry, and the natural world. Now, when I think of, music, I can't imagine Just because my brain as we were talking about earlier is the worst being inspired for a photo through music So is there some sort of common theme throughout all of those That sparks the inspiration for an image for you,

Liza Roberts:

common three theme throughout those different

Raymond Hatfield:

literature cinema music poetry

Liza Roberts:

I guess kind of sweeping, sort of almost romanticized, character driven is, I, I love that. I've never heard anyone say, I'm like, yeah, that makes sense. yeah, sweeping, character driven like storytelling. I guess storytelling really is the main thing. I mean, these are, All art tells a story, and it's vehicle is usually those characters. So again, that's why I'm drawn to portraits. I like people like who are telling the story.

Raymond Hatfield:

is there an example of a song maybe that for you, you listen to it, there was something about it that you thought, oh my gosh, I know exactly what it is that, that I want to capture.

Liza Roberts:

Actually, so usually when I'm thinking of songs, it's cinematic soundtracks or even like classical music. that kind of lets me tell my own story, when I think of it. let's take one that maybe everyone knows like Vivaldi's like spring or that any of the season suites, it's like these very, intense, like strings and just really sweeping full orchestra. so let's take spring for example. to me, I immediately think of huge, century dresses and like proper, like high ladies and, beautiful, Spring day with gardens and, It could be like, I love doing picnic shoots. you can see like some of the Rococo picnic shoots I've done before. I'll send you a photo that can, that people have it. so that would definitely be playing like in my brain when I'm shooting one of those, like picnics where all my friends are dressed up in these 18th century dresses with like macaroon cakes and everything's very dainty and like high society and, Yeah, I think, if you play that and like maybe look at the images that I took, you can be like, okay, I see what I kind of, I can, I can get that.

Raymond Hatfield:

Okay. Okay. I see it. so then can you talk me through maybe what the planning process looks like for you to capture photos? Because I guess the first question that I have is, like imagine I was five years old, right? And all the images that you've ever seen in your life are, cell phone photos that somebody took on, their family event or whatever. And then somebody sees your photos, which are clearly like they're put together. it took time to create these images. People had to get dressed up. and you know, you might even confuse it for like a really like old timey photo because it's so put together so well, especially when it comes to like composition and whatnot. and they were to ask like, why do you do this? Like, why do you shoot this? What is this for? what would you

Liza Roberts:

say to that? It's for people who want to daydream and escape, through art. it's for people who want to, maybe tell their own story about, like looking at my image, like, sure, I have my own story when I tell these images, but audience, and of course it's a niche audience, it's not for everyone, but, I think the niche audience that I, you know, I'm lucky to have, likes finding an escape in these images and the images that I take and. People similar to me take. it's just fun to like, make your own story.

Raymond Hatfield:

when you said, like, I'm just kind of telling a story here. It's people who enjoy those types of stories. My brain immediately went to, could I imagine asking fantasy writer? Why do you write fantasy? Like that's, uh, but, that perfectly makes sense. you're telling these stories. So when you are inspired by cinema or music or poetry, do you immediately think like, here's what a theme for a shoot could be? Or does a single image pop into your head before you start planning the rest?

Liza Roberts:

Sure, it could be. I mean, it could be either way. I also do. Cosplay stuff. So it's, you know, literal translation of a film. So that's one way you could look at it, I guess. but let's go back to, let's pick a film movie. Everyone knows Lord of the Rings, for example, is a good example. I see, let's think about, when Frodo, first meets Galadriel in this like, incredible, enchanted realm. so I can take that, like, still, or idea of that world in my mind and just, okay, I like this certain aspect of that, let's just take, Galadriel's dress, for example, and maybe I can, I'm gonna do a whole shoot around just her gown, so it doesn't even have to end up being about Lord of the Rings, it could just be this beautiful, ethereal, shoot with, gems and pearls and this kind of starlight atmosphere. And it's, it all came from the gown, but now, you know, it's nothing at all about like the root of the film. It's just like this. Pretty photo.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, it comes, it comes out of your imagination. You take what you saw and then you tweak it into something else.

Liza Roberts:

Yeah. So when people ask me a lot about, sorry, taking on a tangent here about, how I get inspired for shoots, cause I, I see people, who want to be photographers struggling a lot, like, okay, this is such a cool idea. How do I do that? Like what did what inspired you? Yeah, you can literally take like anything you love and just It's like those photos like when you zoom in further and further and further to a photo like just take that's another fun exercise you could do even like find a screenshot from a movie love pick one part of it like I like their sword I like that gown look at that cool waterfall in the background like just take that crop it out of the image and just let them let that be your source of inspiration like okay I'm going to tell a story about this one piece of the gown, for example, and it doesn't even have to be about a gown that could be your like background or that could become the world for the image. So I don't know. That might be a fun way to for people to play around with inspiration.

Raymond Hatfield:

Of course. And one of the biggest, excuses, let's call it what it is that most photographers have is that they don't have enough time to go out and shoot and they're like, that's the only way that you can get better. Yeah. But I could totally see how, paying attention to images like that and getting close and really looking at those details could give you an eye and, spark some inspiration. So, that completely makes sense. I love that. let's keep diving into the planning process here, because, um, again, coming from weddings, I think. if I think of an engagement session, you got to get like the wide of, you know, where we're at, maybe a close up, an intimate shot, some details, maybe hands and whatnot. And I almost try to tell a story like throughout the images, like we just showed up, we got a little closer, maybe we're telling some jokes. then it starts to get, more romantic and then it ends with, some details and then like the shoots over, like what is next? Right. That's kind of how I approach it. when you are coming up with an idea for, this new fantasy shoot that you are doing, is it similar to you?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. so would it be helpful? I guess if, if I answered the question, just like this is start to finish kind of like my planning process, I can't imagine that

Raymond Hatfield:

people would say this isn't helpful at all. So yeah, absolutely. Good.

Liza Roberts:

Okay, cool. so like many other people, I also use, Pinterest or, You can refer back to what I just said about the like, finding a screenshot. Yes. and then once I have that, I will pick a location. That's really important to me. I don't have a studio. I'm completely outdoor, natural light. So, I'll find that. and then you, Get your models or, you know, if you're a self portrait artist, good, like awesome that a lot of your work is already done taking care of, taking care of, And then when you're ready to shoot, which I think is like the crux of what you're asking. Yeah, I also, try to have like a an idea of what I want my head or don't be afraid to take notes. I have a billion notes in my notes app on my phone or whatever, of specific shots I want, but don't be afraid to, stray away from that list to like, I know how easy it is to get stressed out, especially when you're working with models because you're working with other people's time. You don't you want it. Yeah. At least I am always like, super cognizant, hyper focused. I'm like, Oh, my gosh, like, I have all these people waiting on me and like, but, um, take your time, they'll understand, like, it's worth the shot to, like, play around to, get what you want to get. but. Play around and that can go for any type of photographer, like wedding photographers to I myself have done weddings and, your couple is going to be happier if you take a little time to play and let them play with you rather than, you know, okay, I got my shots, stress done. It's okay. Like play a little bit. yeah, going back to the shot list. I also will do detail shots. I think that's really cool and important to have just like, even if it's not a full person, like their hands, like holding a sword, especially like swords are creme de la creme and the fantasy. And I guess the last part of the shoot is, just. Let yourself breathe and like, no, you did a great job. Like maybe you didn't get the shot that you wanted exactly, but that's okay. I'm sure you got another shot that's like took its place like because you had fun with it. yeah, that's important.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I agree. Fun is a very important element to photography. So if you come up with a shot list, you have this rough idea of what it is that you want. You go there. you try to stick to it, but You're open to playing around. How do you know if, because time is, like you said, very important, you got to be aware of these people and, and they're waiting on you, how do you know whether or not you did a good job before, the session is over and you let them go home and, you can't shoot anymore. So how do you know that you did a good job at a shoot?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. the like technical answer, I guess, for this is of course, like, take time to like, look, you know, even look at the back of the screen. I know I have some friends who have monitors or you can like, load them onto your phone and kind of just quickly like, go through and okay, good. I got the shot that I wanted. I don't do that. Maybe I should, but, um, I have seen people do that, though. I'm like, that's fine. But it's more fun to be

Raymond Hatfield:

surprised.

Liza Roberts:

It's more fun to be surprised. And if you feel truly like you got what you like, and you're confident, not even if you're confident, even if you just aren't. Let people know that you had a good time and you, feel satisfied, I guess, with the work that you did, like, they're gonna reflect that, you're the photographer, you're the one, like, leading the shot, so own it, like, it's gonna be okay, your models are gonna be happy that you're happy, so. Yeah, just, even if you didn't get it, just, move on to the next thing, you're gonna be fine.

Raymond Hatfield:

It's a bit of a feeling, it sounds like.

Liza Roberts:

It's a feeling, yeah, for sure. Okay,

Raymond Hatfield:

okay. I always found that part kind of difficult because I know,

Liza Roberts:

It is. It's very

Raymond Hatfield:

easy to, feel like you killed it and then come home and, you know, look at your photos and think, what did I do? And I always, just to, kind of get over that, I always have at least a one week period before I will edit any photos. Like, I will put them into my computer so that they're backed up. But if I see the photos immediately, all I'm going to think about is, Oh, I should have done this. Or I could have stepped off to the side. Or how did I not, see that the light was doing that thing or whatever. Um, do you feel the same or do you come back and you're like, Oh, I'm ready to go. let's edit.

Liza Roberts:

I've done both. yeah, I think, you know, of course, when you have that feeling immediately, it's exciting to come on and load them on the computer. but yeah, there have definitely been, every photographer has a time when they're like, I disappointed myself. and it's totally okay to give yourself time. I think it's totally okay to also just like load it on the computer. when I do that, and I load it on the computer, and I do find that I didn't get what I wanted, or it's not as good as I wanted it to be, it's okay to be really bummed about that. Like, let yourself, give yourself time, don't touch them, come back to them in the week then. because yeah, that really sucks. Like, it happens to just remember it happens to everyone. I guess the question then is like, what do I do with the work that I have? Yeah. use it as Experience to teach yourself like, okay, maybe next time I get more shots. again, try that kind of quantity over quality thing, that exercise that we talked about earlier, maybe sneak that in a little bit to a shot. Like, that's okay. If you can't do that, use it as a, chance to edit in different ways or, watch some YouTube tutorials. even if you've been doing photography for a zillion years and you think like you're a master, like, go back to YouTube, watch a basic tutorial again. Everyone can benefit from like a basic class. and then maybe you'll remember something or relearn something that will help you with this, this work that you're not super satisfied with. And remember, Lastly, that you're your own worst critic, I'm sure the people that you're taking the photos of are going to be super excited to have them and to see them.

Raymond Hatfield:

Right, right. Oh my gosh. I can't count how many times you're like, Oh, I got this killer shot. And then you send it to, your client or whatever. And they use a shot that you absolutely hated, like as their profile photo. You're like, what is this? Why would you use that shot? Always. Whatever, I guess. Yeah, yeah. It's subjective. Yeah, yeah. If they're happy. And again, it goes back to like what you said. You are 100 percent your own worst critic. this may be kind of a personal question, but can you tell me like one of the most difficult shoots you had, ever had and kind of what you had learned from it?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. well, let me think about it for a second because I, I can like the feet. No, I wish I can recall that feeling. I'm just trying to think of like one that's like a good, like, you know, let's see here. this one didn't go the way I wanted to, ended up being like good and people liked it. It wasn't like soul crushing, but I was doing a shoot with my friend Rachel. like I said, I don't usually shoot indoors. I love just natural light, so I'm not super well versed in Playing around with photography lighting. I do have a, have a little bit of a background in theater. I studied theater for a while, but that's another story. Anyway, so we were playing with these really fun, color changing, like lights and making them look like. Stage lights, we were doing a clown, like Pierro shoot. And I was like, this is so fun. This looks awesome. I can't wait to get back and edit these. and again, like we just talked about, I get on, I'm like, what am I going to do with these? Like, they look cool, I guess, but like, it's not my usual style and Rachel's awesome, but she's got a substantial following. So I'm like, I want to give her these photos. people are expecting these photos, like, what am I going to do? and it wasn't super exciting to edit for me. but once I did, decided it was a good. Opportunity to just play because it's not what I usually do. So why not? Why not? Just use it as like a learning opportunity. so I played around with like the light colors, which is easy to do because they were so saturated to the color, like, you know, but turning and color sliding sliders and whatever was really fun to play with. I just. experimented with, anything I could think of really. And just like, let's just slide everything around in Lightroom. and it ended up being like, it wasn't my favorite. People ended up really liking it.

Raymond Hatfield:

you are your critic.

Liza Roberts:

Exactly. It all comes back to that.

Raymond Hatfield:

How did Rachel take it? did she like the

Liza Roberts:

photos? Yeah, I think she really liked them. Yeah, I ended up liking them too. Again, it's not like. Wasn't like my favorite shoot like that. We'd ever done together. But yeah, I think it worked out pretty well

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, that is I'm happy to hear that. there was a good ending Thanks. looking on your website I see that you also do like photo retreats and whatnot and you have one coming up called Elysian fields. Is that right?

Liza Roberts:

It's this weekend. Yes, that's right

Raymond Hatfield:

Tell me how these retreats work

Liza Roberts:

Sure. I mean, I love photography, but I am, like I said earlier, a huge extrovert. I love doing these retreats. These are probably, like, equal with photography for, like, passions for me. what I do is I offer folks, usually around 10 people, a weekend of adventure and photo shoots, networking. And, just really, uh, creative relaxation. we all get together in an Airbnb. I try to find, either a really cool Airbnb and within itself so we can shoot inside or, kind of a destination location. So this one is going to be in Port Valley, Virginia. this actually just happened to be the location that people most requested. It's a really cool, rural farm. people are going to meet there where we always, on these retreats have a theme. So, for the photo shoots, I usually do between 2 and 3 photo shoots. this 1, the themes are Friday is, mythical beings from around the world. So, whatever your culture is, find some sort of mythical being that. You can dress up like that.

Raymond Hatfield:

What do you do with dragons?

Liza Roberts:

Absolutely. You can do dragons, dress up like a dragon. There will be photographers, including myself, my friend Maddy. And then if you're a photographer, you're welcome to join too. A lot of these retreats are people who are modeling. But every once in a while I do get photographers who want to come. Saturday we're doing pre Raphaelite inspired. Kind of like Arthurian legend. So, if you just like Google pre Raphaelite, like Arthur, Arthurian legends, you'll see what I'm talking about. we'll do photo shoots. the thing I think people like most about these retreats though, as I mentioned, is the networking and making friends. one thing I hear so often from people is, how do you find people to do this work with? wish I had friends like that. I wish I could do this. Well, you can. And like, my friends and I are like. we didn't know each other before. We're like, Hey, you're cool. You want to just like literally DM them, you know, and like, let's do a thing together, which is super scary. But once you've put yourself out there, you can do it. And that's what these retreats are for really is to break the ice, like meet people in person. So it's not like the awkward act of DMing people. and yeah, by the end of the retreat weekend, you've got a ton of content, like artwork. Photos from the photo shoots. And you've got nine other people who you, are really fast friend with because you've been jammed into an Airbnb, like all like dressing up like dragons together for a weekend. So yeah, they're really fun. It's very a lot of Airbnb

Raymond Hatfield:

full of dragons. I love it. Yeah, so from the photography standpoint you have your idea you have your people What do you bring in because I know that costumes are a big important thing for you and same with them the accessories as well is that the biggest element of this to, for you to bring it all together? is the costumes and the props or is there more to it

Liza Roberts:

for the retreats or for like, for the, yeah,

Raymond Hatfield:

you have a bunch of people showing up. How are you going to ensure that you get the photos that you want that match the themes, that you have set forward? Um,

Liza Roberts:

That's another really good point, actually. So, I do offer like costume packages. If people want that, I will try if I can, if I can. Usually I'm traveling and flying. I'll try to bring what costumes I have available for folks. People that's the number one thing, though. People are like, what do I wear? like panicking because they see I do have really elaborate costumes in my work sometimes or my friends have them. don't worry about it. if I have, an idea for, again, let's say a Rococo's, like, Pink Marie Antoinette photo shoot, like, that's okay. We can fake it for you. Don't spend thousands of dollars on a dress, there are a zillion other ways we can, get you looking just as awesome as the person next to you who maybe did spend a thousand dollars on a dress. I'm actually working on a, my second YouTube video about how to, like, do costumes on a budget right now. so yeah, don't panic about the cost.

Raymond Hatfield:

What are some of those tips I want to know? how do you costume on a budget?

Liza Roberts:

I'll give you a little, little sneak preview. So, yes. Exclusive. Um, Lucid, that's right. so the first thing I always do if I'm Looking for a costume is again make a pinterest board visual inspiration is key really pay attention to little details because that's what's going to help you fake a costume So in my youtube video I choose like a renaissance look So, I compare, I bought a dress from Costura Royale, which is one of my favorite, like, places to buy costumes. It's just beautiful, kind of like, angel sleeve, like, big, long drape sleeve, renaissance gown, medievally renaissance gown. and then I show you, okay, let's try to find something like this on Poshmark, which is an online thrift store, or you can go, thrift in person. I study a Pinterest image. one thing I do is point out the detailing, the trimming along the edge of the dress. And I find, a velvet gown that has, some trim. It's more modern looking trim, but it's per a photo. Like no one's going to be like, I see that that's, you know, like they're not, it's not going to matter for a photo. but that little detail does kind of help bring it closer to the period that you're looking for. And then, going from there, just like, little details, like having a chemise underneath the dress, for example, which you can find on Amazon for like 15 rather than the 200 one you can buy on Etsy, also both valid options, but. again, easier to find on a budget. and then, little details like you mentioned accessories, like hair, doing your hair with a simple braid, and adding, what's called a snood, which is actually looks kind of like a lunch lady hair net, but they wore them, in the renaissance is kind of a decorative hair piece. Again, you can find them on Amazon and that will help, bring your costume look full circle, like bring it all together, look at make it look a little more cohesive. so just really paying attention to detail. I'm going to say that again will help you, make a look work on a budget.

Raymond Hatfield:

Does that answer the

Liza Roberts:

question?

Raymond Hatfield:

It does 100%. I mean, because I am not fashion forward, as you can see here with my Sherpa. You look great. Okay. I appreciate that. but, for me, it's always hard. as I mentioned earlier, when I was in film school, I would pay attention to the costume design students and, I'd listen into some of their teachings. And it was always, About like the smallest details and I I don't know that's just not where my brain goes It's always like here's the meat of the story and I always have the hardest time with details and even when my wife was like Let's redo our entire bathroom and I'm like Okay, I don't know how we're gonna do that and she comes up with all the small details and that's what like ties it all together So it sounds to me like, correct me if I'm wrong, a great way to get better at details is finding that inspiration and zooming into those shots and just really looking at a photo and studying it. Is that right?

Liza Roberts:

Yeah, absolutely. and again, you said earlier, like finding the time to shoot is hard. Like, how am I supposed to sit down? And just remember like that, that's an investment in your work too, just as much as getting a shot or, going out and the act of photography is part of your job, doing the homework and research as part of your job too. And let, yourself. Do that. Like for me, I have a hard time like every photographer, if I'm not actively doing something every day, I remind myself, even watching a movie is doing research, if I'm watching, Lord of the Rings for the 70th time, like this time I'm going to pick up a new detail I didn't last time. And that's going to make my work better because I noticed that detail, Yeah, any little detail you can pick up, take note of it and that's worth your time too. I,

Raymond Hatfield:

yeah, I, just did the math, 70 times watching Lord of the Rings is 2100 hours of enjoying Lord of the Rings. So that is phenomenal. That is a lot of research right there. That's a lot of homework that you are doing. And that's exactly why I write off going to the movies on my taxes as education for my business. You can

Liza Roberts:

absolutely.

Raymond Hatfield:

Absolutely. It's wonderful. I got one last question for you here, Liza, and it is, I want you to, if I were to ask you to close your eyes and imagine a Liza Roberts photo, what does that photo look like? what elements make up that image?

Liza Roberts:

Sure. So, it's a strong, uh, Character, let's use that word again. I really like to, Liza Roberts images, really like to feature marginalized, folks. I think, I want my work to give them a platform. So, let's say that's the character, it's a sweeping landscape or, some sort of transportive location, lots of golden light. and definitely a sword. There's always a sword in there. Definitely

Raymond Hatfield:

a sword. Gotta have the sword. Yeah. Um, that's perfect. I think, That's a hard, exercise to do is to describe your own work because sometimes it feels like you can be so, in it, right? You're so, what's the, uh, the phrase? you can't see the forest through the trees or something like that. Yeah. The trees through the forest, whatever it is. I know what you mean. Yeah. You know, all the bad photos you take, you know, all the good photos you take, you know, all the work that goes into it. And seeing those straight out of camera photos versus like the, edited and shared images, it's hard to separate those. So, I appreciate. That you're able to do that, to really think that through and describe that because I don't know if I would be able to do that, honestly, I'll have to try sometime. Anyway, Liza, I gotta ask, I know people are thinking to themselves, this sounds really interesting. Who doesn't love swords? Who doesn't love fantasy? Who doesn't love dragons? I would love to see more of, Liza's work. Can you share with us where we can, find you online?

Liza Roberts:

Absolutely. So, I'm on Instagram, TikTok, at Lizabet, L I Z A B E T, Roberts. and also on YouTube, getting there under Lizabet Roberts. So, yeah. Yeah, and LizaBetRoberts. com.

Raymond Hatfield:

As always, I have some major takeaways from this episode. I want to share three of them with you today. My first takeaway from this interview with Liza is Liza uses the camera as a tool to create. And I know that that seems like, well, of course, we all do. But think that many people buy a camera to, quote unquote, see what. You can do with it, you know that you can take a good photo with your phone Or you've taken photos with your phone that you like So imagine how much better a quote unquote good camera could be So you're buying that camera to see what you can do with it, but that is gonna be nothing without some sort of creative vision, right? And that's, I think, Liza's first step is that she has that creative vision. And then she simply uses the camera as a tool to create it as a tool to capture that vision that she has. I love that. Second takeaway is to use failure as a tool to try something new. when a shoot doesn't work, I Try something new, you know, if you can tell, oh, this is not working at all, then you kind of have free reign do whatever it is that you want, right? Try a completely different concept, or even just try a new editing style like Liza shares in this interview. And then my third takeaway here is that you have to be relentless to create what you want to create. There are so many excuses that we call roadblocks. I don't know photography. I don't know anybody who will model for me. costumes are expensive. It's not going to be perfect, but done is always better than perfect because perfect never gets done. Now, if you liked this interview here with Liza Roberts, I really think that you would also like episode 306 with David Julian, all about learning photography through creative projects. Here is a quick clip.

David Jullian:

The end game would be, in my opinion, to share it with the world, right? Otherwise you're an island making work for yourself and there's people with you. Thousands of pounds of photographs like that in their attics and basements and I myself have a garage full of things I have not shown the world But I think that it's important to say that you're doing a personal project because you want to share something about yourself You said something very important at the very beginning of this podcast, um, and I think that what I took from that is, a photograph is both about what's in front of the camera and the person behind the camera. That's not how you phrased it, but that's the takeaway. And so if you're doing a personal project, it's partly to investigate and explore something, and the adventure of exploring something you are drawn to. And in doing so, you're going to naturally tell your story to other people. Um, I care, I care about this vase full of flowers and I'm going to photograph it with true belief and passion towards my love for flowers and vases. And I want other people to see what I see when I light them that way or to show them that way. It's the true spirit of sharing and art is meant to be seen by more than the person who created it.

Raymond Hatfield:

If you want to learn more about personal projects and learn ways that you can explore them again, check out episode 306 with David Julian. Now that is it for this week. Thank you again for tuning into this episode of the beginner photography podcast, brought to you by cloud spot, the easiest way to deliver and sell your photos online. You can learn more about cloud spot by heading over to deliver photos. com. And remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow.

Outro:

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